| 01:09pm, 10th Apr 2007 |
where is Malaysia headed? |
k4sh
[Profile - Diary]
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KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia: Islamic authorities took away the baby of a Muslim woman who is living as a Hindu in defiance of the law in the latest case of religious conflict straining ties in multiethnic Malaysia, officials said Friday.
Revathi Masoosai's 15-month-old daughter was taken by the Islamic Religious Department in southern Malacca state on March 26 and handed to Revathi's Muslim mother, said department enforcement officer Mohamad Imran Ahmad.
"The baby's grandmother has custody of her for now," Mohamad Imran told The Associated Press.
Revathi, an ethnic Indian, is being held in a rehabilitation center run by Islamic authorities for her religious transgression. The baby was with Revathi's husband when she was seized. He has filed a police complaint, but it was not clear if he plans to take the case to court.
Meanwhile, the baby will stay with her grandmother. "When the baby's mother is released, she can try to regain custody if she wants to," said Mohamad Imran without elaborating.
The case, which was made public by the opposition Democratic Action Party on Thursday, highlights an increasing number of spats affecting the religious and family rights of the ethnic Indian and Chinese minorities.
Indians, who form about 8 percent of Malaysia's 26 million people, are mostly Hindus while some are Christians, Muslims and Sikhs.
Activists say a string of recent disputes have ended in favor of Muslims — who comprise nearly 60 percent of the population — and strained ethnic relations in this multicultural nation, which has enjoyed racial peace for nearly four decades.
Revathi, 29, was born to Indian Muslim parents who gave her a Muslim name, Siti Fatimah. However, Revathi claims she was raised as a Hindu by her grandmother and changed her name in 2001, said Chong Eng, an opposition member of Parliament.
Revathi married Suresh Veerappan in 2004 according to Hindu rites. The marriage has not been legally registered because Suresh would have had to convert to Islam first.
Revathi's official identification documents state she is Muslim because Malaysians who are born as Muslims cannot legally convert.
The Islamic Religious Department apparently learned of Revathi's case after she gave birth. Revathi was detained in January and taken to a rehabilitation center in central Malaysia where she is expected to be held until at least mid-April to undergo religious counseling, Chong said.
"Separating mother and child ... is inhuman," Chong said in a statement.
A custody battle would be complicated because Islamic officials and Revathi's mother would likely seek to try the case in Islamic Shariah court, which handles religious, family and personal law disputes involving Muslims.
Non-Muslims turn to civil courts to settle these issues. But the secular courts have generally avoided taking a position in such disputes between Muslims and non-Muslims, leaving it to the Shariah system, where verdicts have often favored Muslims.
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/04/06/asia/AS-GEN-Malaysia-Custody-Struggle.php
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| 01:11pm, 10th Apr 2007 |
where is Malaysia headed? |
k4sh
[Profile - Diary]
Msg no: 30751
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Where Are Malaysia’s Religious Authorities Heading?
By Farish A Noor
Since 2006 Malaysia has been rocked by a number of hugely controversial
cases involving the fundamental right of belief and freedom of religion.
Between 2005 to 2006 the country was a virtual battleground with opposing
factions claiming the right for Malaysian citizens to believe according to
their will and rational agency, and a number of legal experts and NGOs have
come forth demanding that the government of Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi
defend the secular constitution of the country.
At the root of the matter is the the problem that arises with having two
different, and some would say irreconcilable, legal systems: A secular civil
code for non-Muslims and a religious one for Muslims. Furthermore Malaysia
is unique in the sense that it is one of the few countries in the world that
defines the racial identity of some of its citizens with their religion of
birth. According to the Federal Constitution of Malaysia, all Malays are by
definition Muslims. (Which stands in stark contrast to Indonesia next door
where being a local Indonesian does not necessarily mean that one is
immediately a Muslim, as there are millions of Christian and Hindu
Indonesians as well)
What has compounded matters are a series of divorce and marriage cases
across the racial and religious divide. Since 2005 a number of prominent
court cases have come to the fore where Muslims married to non-Muslims have
been told that their cases have to be settled in Muslim courts. There have
also been cases where non-Muslim couples have decided to divorce when one
partner decides to marry marry a Muslim instead. In these cases it is again
the Muslim court that decides the fate of both partners, and their children,
by virtue of the fact that one of them is now a Muslim.
The latest case to be thrown into the fray is that of Revathi Masoosai, who
was born to a Muslim family but brought up as a Hindu by her Hindu
Grandmother. Revathi married a Hindu man and lived as a Hindu until she gave
birth to their first child. Recently the Islamic authorities in the state of
Melacca took away her child on the grounds that she was illegally practicing
Hinduism, despite her claim that she has been a practising Hindu thanks to
the religious education she received from her grandmother. Revathi’s child
is now in the custody of her Muslim relatives while she herself has been
sent to a ‘faith rehabilitation centre’ in order to recant and delcare
herself a Muslim once again. Even then she would be left with the problem of
her marriage to a Hindu man.
All these cases involve Malaysian citizens and bring into question the
fundamental right to believe in one’s religion of choice. They also raise
the question of the exact power, status and authorities of the religious
bureaucracy in the country, which seems to be standing on par with the
secular courts and the Federal constitution. So who really runs the country
then?
Despite constant appeals by human rights NGOs and representatives of the
other non-Muslim faith communities, it is clear that the Muslim constituency
looms large in Malaysia. Even more so today as Muslims make up 60 per cent
of the population and are the biggest vote bank.
Understandably the non-Malay and non-Muslim minorities feel worried about
what they see as creeping Islamisation through the organs of state in
Malaysia today. The administration of Prime Minister Badawi is trying to
present itself as the face of modern, progressive, moderate Islam at work-
but at the same time the country’s religious authorities have grown ever
more brazen and cavalier in their outlook and practice, going to the point
of conducting moral policing raids and taking away the children of Malaysian
citizens like Revathi. Non-Muslims in Malaysia have begun to protest, albeit
passively, with collective prayers in solidarity with other minority groups.
At the same time numerous local surveys indicate that race and communal
relations are at an all time low. With Malaysia’s 50th anniversary around
the corner this coming August, one wonders where the country is heading and
when it departed from its secular-democratic moorings.
End.
Dr. Farish A. Noor is a Malaysian political scientist based at the Zentrum
Moderner Orient, and one of the founders of the http://www.othermalaysia.org
research site |
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| 01:34pm, 10th Apr 2007 |
where is Malaysia headed? |
k4sh
[Profile - Diary]
Msg no: 30752
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A perfect example of why Shariah should either be applied in its entirety and as the only legal system in a country or not at all!! |
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| 02:50pm, 10th Apr 2007 |
where is Malaysia headed? |
kanjoose1
[Profile - Diary]
Msg no: 30753
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Another reason why Shariah should be implimented in its entirety (if thats what you want) or not at all. Parallel legal systems just don't work! |
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| 03:02pm, 10th Apr 2007 |
where is Malaysia headed? |
ibmman
[Profile - Diary]
Msg no: 30755
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Sad to see a great nation like Malaysia going down this route! Damn religious loonies!! |
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| 05:21pm, 10th Apr 2007 |
where is Malaysia headed? |
Kaalia_81
[Profile - Diary]
Msg no: 30764
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so shocking the way malaysia is going, what appears a progressive nation is blighted by the radical islam stance.!  |
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| 05:37pm, 10th Apr 2007 |
where is Malaysia headed? |
bappujii
[Profile - Diary]
Msg no: 30766
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Malaysia is beautiful it is progressing well.........
Hope both pakistan and malaysia take a hard stance at this radicilisation....... |
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| 06:23pm, 7th Jan 2008 |
where is Malaysia headed? |
k4sh
[Profile - Diary]
Msg no: 36682
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More loonyness by our Malay friends.
thanks god they saw the light and reversed their decision, although this was probably more our of embarrassment than anything else.
Malaysian Catholic weekly told to drop use of 'Allah' in order to renew publishing permit PDF Print E-mail
Posted by Lawrence of Malaysia
Friday, 21 December 2007
KUALA LUMPUR (AP): A Catholic weekly newspaper in Malaysia has been told to drop the use of the word "Allah" in its Malay language section if it wants to renew its publishing permit, a senior government official said Friday.
The Herald, the organ of Malaysia's Catholic Church, has translated the word God as "Allah" but it is erroneous because Allah refers to the Muslim God, said Che Din Yusoff, a senior official at the Internal Security Ministry's publications control unit.
"Christians cannot use the word Allah. It is only applicable to Muslims. Allah is only for the Muslim god. This is a design to confuse the Muslim people," Che Din told The Associated Press.
The weekly should instead, use the word "Tuhan" which is the general term for God, he said.
Religious issues are extremely sensitive in Malaysia, where about 60 percent of the 27 million people are Malay Muslims. Ethnic Chinese, who follow Christianity and Buddhism, account for 25 percent of the population. Indians, who are mostly Hindus with a sprinkling of Christians and Muslims, are around 10 percent.
The minorities have often complained that they don't have full freedom of religion even though the constitution guarantees everybody the right to worship. The minorities cite the difficulty in obtaining permission to build their places of worship, and the Hindus have been particularly angered by the demolition of temples by government authorities in recent months.
The Herald, which has a circulation of 12,000 copies for its members, publishes reports in four languages - English, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil.
The Rev. Lawrence Andrew, editor of the Herald, said the weekly's use of the word Allah was not intended to offend Muslims.
"We follow the Bible. The Malay-language Bible uses Allah for God and Tuhan for Lord. In our prayers and in church during Malay mass, we use the word Allah," he told the AP.
"This is not something new. The word Allah has been used in Malaysia for a long time. There is no confusion," he said.
http://www.malaysia-today.net/2008/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=175&Itemid=37
The Malaysian government has reversed a decision to ban a Christian newspaper using the word Allah to refer to God.
The government had threatened to refuse to give the Weekly Herald a publishing permit if it continued to use the word.
The paper's editor said the word had long been used by Christians to refer to God in the Malay language.
The ruling was immediately condemned by civil rights and Christian groups in Malaysia, who said it infringed their right to practice their religion.
But Malaysia's internal security department demanded the word be removed, saying only Muslims could use it.
'Over-zealous ministers'
Now the government has back-tracked.
In a fax to the Herald's editor, the government says it will get its 2008 permit, with no conditions attached.
Father Andrew Lawrence told the BBC he was delighted, saying prayers had been answered.
He blamed politics and a general election expected here in 2008 year for what he said were the actions of a few over-zealous ministers in the Muslim-dominated Malay government.
Religious issues are highly sensitive in Malaysia, which has a 60% Muslim population.
Religious freedom is guaranteed in the law but minority groups have accused the Muslim Malay majority of trying to increase the role of Islam in the country.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7164872.stm |
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